The development and proliferation of software-based map services (e.g., STREETS AND TRIPS from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, IGUIDANCE from INAV CORPORATION, and STREET ATLAS from DELORME) and web-based map services (BING MAPS from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, GOOGLE MAPS from GOOGLE INC., and YAHOO! MAPS from YAHOO! INC.) have fundamentally changed the way drivers plan commutes and road trips. Software-based map services and web-based map services may be collectively referred to herein as “computer-implemented map services.” Prior to the development of computer-implemented map services, a driver typically relied on a paper map. However, a paper map may show possible routes without much distinction between the routes. As a result, a driver planning a route by manually selecting roads on the paper map may select a sub-optimal combination of roads. For example, the driver may not account for the number of lanes on each road, the number of traffic lights on the route, traffic congestion on the different roads, and the like.
Computer-implemented map services may provide enhanced route planning capabilities over paper maps. In particular, computer-implemented map services may provide a route determination interface whereby a user can enter two geographic locations. The route determination interface then may compute a route between the two geographic locations. For example, the route determination interface may provide the route having the shortest path or the shortest estimated travel time.
Computer-implemented map services may further provide a point of interest (“POI”) search interface whereby a user can enter a geographic location. The computer-implemented map services then may provide various POIs near the geographic location. More advanced POI search interfaces may also provide POIs within a vicinity of a computed route. For example, the POI search interface may implement a polyline vicinity query that finds POIs near data points along the computed route.
One of the drawbacks with conventional POI search interfaces is the vast amount of information returned by the POI search interfaces. Some computer-implemented map services may attempt to organize the search results by category (e.g., restaurants, hotels, gas stations, etc.). However, the user is typically left to find relevant POIs from the returned search results without much additional guidance from the POI search interfaces.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.